These Fleeting Moments
by lizzyclaire
Summary: When an attempt is made on the country's priestesses' life, Teru, the priestess in training, begins to fear for her own life. Can Kurosaki, her newly appointed bodyguard, protect her from all of the people trying to kill her?        AU
1. prolog

**I do not own Dengeki Daisy or any of its characters, simply the plot and world that I put them in.**

I was five when I found out that I had the gift of the priestess. And though most would consider that an honor, it ended up almost getting me killed countless times, and forced me to fear for my life.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue, not even disturbed once by the occasional puff of white that would swim by. The grass beneath my feet was soft and well manicured, a few clovers and wild flowers poking up in random places. A few feet in front of me was a village consisting of small homes and shops. The bell tower of the village's church could be seen towering above all other buildings, though that was only to be expected.

As I took in my new surroundings, my chest swelled with excitement. I had never seen the place that I was in before, but the promise of the adventure of exploring it had me about ready to burst with new found energy. I set off at a run towards the small village, but I had only gone a few steps when something stopped me.

The ground was shaking, pitching back and forth to a point where it knocked me off my feet. I watched in horror as the adorable little buildings in front of me began to fall, crumbling to the ground and crushing the people that were still inside. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I called out for my mother, father, anyone that could tell me what was going on and what was going to happen to the people that had been inside of the fallen houses.

The church bell began to ring due to the shaking of the ground that knocked it around. The noise was so loud that I was forced to cover my small ears less they get damaged. I cried out once again in a last attempt for someone to help me, and then I woke up.

I sat up strait in my small child bed, tears streaming down my face and short brown hair sticking out in every which way. I was alone in my room, which didn't help the fear still pulsing through me. I leaped out of bed, bare feet hitting cold wood floor, and ran out of my room.

Our house was big, but it took me next to no time to find my parents room. Their door was open, and though I was sobbing by the time I reached it, I hesitated in the doorway.

"Teru?" I heard my mother's voice call from inside the dark room.

"Yes?" I said softly, then sniffled.

"Come here. What's wrong?" My mother asked in a gentle voice. I heard a short click, then saw the bedside lamp on my mother's side of the bed flicker on. The soft light reviled my mother sitting up in bed, and my father next to her, puffy white comforter still pulled up to his shoulders as he slept.

Once I could see inside my parents room, I charged the bed, climbing on and into my mothers open arms. The movement jerked my father awake, and at first he looked more than a little annoyed, but when he saw me clinging to mother as if my life depended on it, he didn't seam to mind so much. After being stroked and petted and comforted, my parents had calmed me down enough so that I could explain what had happened.

"Th-the ground, it-it was shaking a-and I didn't know why!" I wailed.

"Where were you when this happened sweetie?" My mother asked gently.

"I don't know!" I cried yet again. "But it felt so real, like I was really there!"

Though my parents were concerned about me enough to let me sleep in their room for the rest of the night, they still passed off my dream as nothing more than a nightmare. It wasn't until three days later when we heard about the earthquake in another city that my parents actually took note of it. I was taken to the priestess, the leader of the country's spiritual guidance, and also a very strong influence in the country's government. She claimed that I had the gift of the priestesses, and that I was to begin taking lessons from her immediately.

After that I no longer took lessons from my tutor that I shared with my brother, Souichirou. Instead I was taken to the church each day and taught lessons that would prepare me for the role that I would take over when the current priestess died. Though nothing that I was taught in the church would prepare me for what I would face later on in life.

**I guess that's sort of a cliff hanger, but I'm not really sure. For all of you guys who want to see Kurosaki, don't worry, he's coming. He just wasn't in this chapter, so keep reading, cause he'll be in the next one!**

**Remember! **_**Review!**_


	2. The First Attempt

These Fleeting Moments

It all started when someone tried to kill the priestess.

I was on my way back from visiting the third of the twelve major cities that were located around the capital. I was sitting in the carriage that belonged to both my brother and I, watching the hustle and bustle of the streets outside. The stone buildings along the streets towered over the people, each one taller than they were wide. Every building held one or more stores, a few with apartments at the very top. Some people would live in their stores, but most houses were located on the outskirts of the city. All were decades old with the property around it varying from next to nothing to three acres like Onii-chan and I had.

Traffic was the same as usual in the city until we got to the church. Visitors to the church were common during every hour of the day; some people even came from distant cities just to pray to the gods in the original church devoted to them.

Today though, the streets were so packed that the carriage was forced to come to a complete stop. I looked out the window to find men and an occasional woman all crowding around the front of the large gray stoned church. Looking through the large, multicolored stained glass windows, I found that there were next to no people on the inside. This meant that whatever was going on inside was something that the church did not want the public to see.

Figuring that I wouldn't be able to go any farther by carriage, and that I should also see what the uproar was about, I opened the carriage door and stepped in to the long shadows cast by the tightly packed buildings around me. I turned to address Master, our carriage driver. "Wait here for me; I'll be back in a moment." Then, picking up the long, light blue fabric of my dress, I began pushing my way through the crowd.

When I was around halfway through the crowd, my brother, Souichirou, must have seen me, because he began calling out my name. "Over here!" I called back, pushing through the crowed more aggressively than before. I heard my brothers apologies as he also made his way towards me through the crowd of strangers.

When he found me, I was pulled into yet another one of his crushing hugs. He stank, like usual, due to his reluctance to make time to take a bath what with his busy schedule. I chose not to comment on this though; from the look on his face I could tell that he was worried about something, so I thought it best not to bring it up.

"What's going on?" I asked, "Why are all these people here?"

He let me go, and I looked up to see his face grave. "Someone tried to kill the priestess."

"What?" I gasped, attempting to throw myself through the congregation of people so that I could find my mentor. I didn't get far though because Onii-chan quickly caught me around my waist and pulled me back to him.

"Don't worry, she's okay. Some workers were in the right place at the right time, they stopped her from getting killed. The assassin got away, but thankfully the priestess wasn't seriously hurt." He told me reassuringly.

I breathed a sigh, then placed my head against Onii-chan's chest. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug, and I felt his black hair brush against the top of my head as he bowed his.

After a few moments of absorbing his warmth and reassurance, I removed his arms from around my waist and headed towards the front doors of the church. When I got to the large wooden double doors, I was stopped by a guard, but as soon as he recognized me e let me through. The doors were intricately carved with designs representing each of the gods and goddesses and extremely heavy. As soon as I managed to shove open the rarely closed doors, my friend, Kiyoshi, tackled me in a hug, not making holding the door open any easier.

"Geh off!" I mumbled into his shoulder as the door began to push the both of us outside with its weight. Once we both made our way past the door and inside, I returned his hug. Kiyoshi had been my first friend when I had joined the church, and had remained that way ever since. "So," I asked as he grabbed my hand and started leading me through the church, "Why is everyone hugging me today?"

"Well, you know what happened to the priestess, right?" I nodded my head. "So, when everyone noticed that you were late coming back from your trip, we all thought that something had happened to you too."

I bowed my head. "Sorry, I meant to come back earlier, but the wedding lasted longer than I thought it would. Apparently something happened to the bride's dress, so we all had to wait for about an hour while they got it fixed. I didn't mean to make you worry."

It was one of the duties of the priestess to marry people in her country. Marriages only happened once every few months though due to the small amount of baby girls born. Only about a fourth of the population consisted of females, so to keep the population in tack, women were required to have at least four children.

Because of the lack of girls, for men, getting married was something that only happened to the best of them. Courting a woman was a big ordeal in which many young men are invited to a party in which they all try to gain the favor of one of more women. After a few more parties, only the men that had appealed to the woman the most would be able to individually court her. After a while, the woman would narrow down who she wanted to see until she found who she wanted to marry. Sometimes this process wouldn't take that long, but most of the time it would.

I was different though, I couldn't be married off. As a priestess, I wasn't allowed to become too distracted from my work, so I was required to marry someone from the church. Though all this did was make most of the men my age kiss ups.

Still leading the way, Kiyoshi took me through the church. First we passed through the chapel, one of the few places open to the public. It was shaped like a large hexagon, the door on one side, and shrines to all of the gods and goddesses on all of the other sides. In front of each shrine there were three pews for people to sit in when they prayed.

The shrine across from the door was the largest, though that was only custom for the leader of the gods, Time. On the side to the right of that was the shrine to the goddess of water, then the one next to that the god of earth. On the left side of the god of time was the shrine to the goddess of fire, and then next to that the god of wind. On any other day, the chapel would be full of people, all either praying or discussing important matters with one of the church workers. Today it was empty though, and even the thought alone was enough to leave me feeling slightly depressed.

Between the shrines of Time and Water were another set of intricately carved wooden doors. We walked through them and into a hallway only lit by the occasional oil lamp that was attached to the wall. The walls were painted a dark blue, giving me the feeling of cool calmness. The intent was to relax who ever walked through it, with the help of the potpourri that was placed all over the church. After all, the only way to truly connect with the gods was to relax your muscles and clear your mind.

Branching off from the main hallway were many other smaller corridors, each had multiple doors leading to different rooms in the church. At the very end of the main hallway was another pair of double doors that led to the priestesses' privet praying room, something that was shut off to everyone else.

Kiyoshi and I made our way down one of the smaller corridors towards the end of the hallway that led to the priestess's bedroom. I had expected her to be there, as now a days she never left the church. The head priestess was getting on in years, now almost seventy. I had been found to find the gift of the priestess quite late though. When the head priestess begins to get old, usually a new little girl with the uncanny ability to predict the future in her dreams is found and trained to be the old priestess's successor. Because I had been found later than usual, I had heard that another girl a bit older than me had been chosen in my place because people were worried that someone with the gift would show up either too late to be trained, or not at all. When I had been found though, the other girl disappeared, and even to that day still no one knew what had happened to her.

I pushed the thought away as we entered the priestess's bedroom. Kiyoshi immediately bowed, as was proper. "Dai-dono." He addressed her, using the highest honorific possible. Often many people added "-sama" to the end of my name as well, except for people close to me like Onii-chan, Dai, and Kiyoshi.

As I said before, the head priestess was getting old. She had multiple wrinkles along her face that increased in number and size when she smiled, which was often. Her hair was mostly gray, and fell down to her waist, occasionally broken up by a few strands of black. She stood only a few inches taller than me, which wasn't saying much. Her most prominent fetcher though, had to be her large, deep blue eyes. When she was happy, which was most of the time; they held a sort of sparkle in them that was hard not to notice.

The priestess's bedroom was simple, with a bed in the far corner, and a single window on the wall opposite the door that supplied the only light in the room. Paintings covered the tan walls, most of them were of things in nature, like flowers or trees. She had a few smaller portraits though, of her late husband and four children that were now already grown and off working in another city.

There was a single rug adorning the floor made up of a deep maroon color with gold patterns like vines growing across it. The color matched the bed comforter, along with the curtains. On the right wall was a large armoire made of dark pine wood with a mirror covering nearly the whole length and width.

I found Dai sitting on her bed, one of the best doctors in the country tending to her right arm. A bandage had been wrapped around it a few times, and was stained scarlet in the middle with her blood. I rushed to my mentors' side, placing a hand on her other arm.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice dripping with concern.

"Of course." She replied, still bright and cheerful despite what had happened. "I just gave the man the old what for with my cane, then he didn't bother me anymore."

"And," The doctor added sternly from beside her, "You were lucky enough to have a pair of workers walking by just at the time when you called for help."

"Well, yes, but the way I put it sounds so much better." She retorted, her child like disposition still continuing to amaze me.

"That reminds me," I said, turning to face the doctor. "Does anyone know who it was that attacked her?"

"No," He replied, shaking his head sadly, "He was wearing a mask, and once the workers barged in he ran. They couldn't catch him."

"Well," I sighed, disappointed. "I've never heard of someone purposely trying to hurt a priestess before, but I guess we'll just have to be more careful from now on. I'll ask the police chief to put a guard outside the front door of the church at night. We'll have the door leading to the rest of the church from the chapel locked during visiting hours. Workers will use the back door on the other side of the church for which they should all have a key." I looked at Kiyoshi as I said this, and he smiled sheepishly back at me. He was always forgetting his key.

I turned to the doctor who as smiling down at me. "Smart as always Teru-sama."

The rest of my day was then spent arranging protection precautions, and discussing other important matters with other important people. By the time I got home I was exhausted, and prayed that I would not be haunted by prophetic dreams that night. As soon as I closed my eyes though, I could feel a dream tugging at the edges of my consciousness, trying to drag me into it. And I knew that even if I wanted to, I could not resist. The gods were trying to send a message to me, and as the priestess I had to receive it.

Giving into the dream, I let it drag me under, into its depths. With the dream playing out in my head, scarlet soon flooded my vision. The smell of death filled the air, and I watched as a single soul was forcibly separated from its vassal.

I woke up gasping, the beginnings of tears stating to form in my eyes. My stomach rolled, the gore that I had just seen making me nauseous. That night, I found out that the person trying to kill Dai, would eventually succeed.

**Sorry, but I couldn't fit Kurosaki in this chapter, it was long enough without him. He will be in the next chapter, first thing.**

_**Review please! **_


	3. Introductions

**Sorry, but I don't think I did a disclaimer on the last chapter,. I do not and will probably never own Dengeki daisy, just my plot and the world that it takes place in.**

**Also, referring to something I read in a review, this story takes place in no specific setting. In fact, it is a world that I made up entirely on my own. Though right now it is based a lot off of Victorian era England, there are already some customs that I am making up, as well as blending in other customs as well. Therefore, my using Japanese honorifics is just another one of my attempts at blending customs. I also very much enjoy using their honorifics because they can be very specific, especially compared to English honorifics.**

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><p>The next day, Souichrou had company over.<p>

"Teru." I heard him call from my second story bedroom. "Come down here. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Coming." I yelled back, placing the last pin in my hair to keep it up in its lose bun. Then, after smoothing down the soft folds of my light yellow dress, I hurried down the stairs, the usual bounce in my step.

Onii-chan was waiting in the foyer along with another man, our guest. He was tall, at least a head taller than Onii-chan, and most likely about a foot and a half taller than me. He had blond hair left in an organized disarray, and deep blue pools for eyes. They both stopped talking and turned to look at me when I approached. I noticed then how gruff the man looked, not like he was scary, but more like he could be scary, if he wanted to.

When he turned to look at me though, his expression seemed to soften a tiny bit. This changed everything, as I realized then that he was sort of handsome.

Trying to distract myself from that thought, I found that this man would be very easy to read. That was because his eyes seemed to reflect his emotions so clearly, it was like reading an open book.

Onii-chan cleared his throat, reminding me of my manners. I gave a small curtsy, not bothering to go down too low. It was something that I never had to worry about; the lower a curtsy, the higher the person that you were curtsying to was above you. The only person higher than me in society was the priestess, which was something that I would one day become.

In turn the man bowed, with Sou-chan smiling off to the side for some odd reason. "Teru, I would like you to meet my friend, Kurosaki Tasuku. From now on, he's going to be your body guard."

My eyes widened without my permission. "My what?"

Onii-chan sighed, losing his smile. "Honestly Teru, what happened yesterday scared the hell out of me. And when you got back from your trip late, well, I thought that I had lost you too. You're the only family I have left, I'm not letting anything happen to you." I hated when Onii-chan actually had a point.

"From now on, Tasuku here will accompany you where ever you go." He placed a hand on Kurosaki's shoulder, the ever present smile back on his face. Kurosaki smiled too, but I couldn't tell if it was forced or not.

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><p>A few hours later, I was getting dressed once again. This time in a privet room in the church of the seventh city. I was getting ready for yet another wedding, which was extremely rare. Originally, this wedding had been two weeks earlier, but a violent storm had caused the couple to postpone the outside ceremony.<p>

I had arrived around an hour earlier with Dai and Kurosaki, and was now changing from my everyday yellow dress into my light purple ball gown. Dark purple beads were scattered about the dress, and the only accessory that I wore with it was a purple ribbon that I had tied around my neck. The only thing that I still needed for my dress was for someone to lace up my corset before I put it on. Usually I had Onii-chan do it for me at home, but when I was out I would get Dai to help me.

"Dai, can you come help me for a second?" I called, knowing that she was in yelling distance. Unfortunately for me, Dai wasn't the one who answered.

"Well, I'm not the priestess, but I'm sure I could help you all the same." Said Kurosaki as he leisurely leaned against the door frame. "What is it that you need me to do? I'd be happy to help."

"Sorry," I replied sourly, "But I'd much rather have Dai help me with this."

"Nonsense, all you need is for someone to do up your corset, right?" He strode over to me casually, a cocky grin plastered to his face. "No offence to Dai-dono, but I'm pretty sure that I could do that better than her."

I sighed, rolling my eyes and turning my back to him. "Whatever, just try not to squeeze my guts out, okay?" As I looked into the mirror in front of me, I saw Kurosaki's smile turn genuine as he laughed at me.

Teasing me no doubt, he yanked on the strings of my corset, causing it to tighten around me to the point where I gagged. He loosened it slightly before tying it off, leaving it firm but not choking. I grabbed my dress and slipped it over my head, Kurosaki buttoning up the back for me without my having to ask.

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><p>It wasn't until later that night that we spoke again. Multiple times during the wedding he had tried to speak to me, but every time I had shushed him before he could get an entire sentence out. Now, at the reception, I found myself sitting alone, wanting so badly for someone to talk to that I would have settled for even the teasing of Kurosaki. And that happened to be exactly what I got.<p>

I was fanning myself with my small wooden fan while watching wedding guests twirl and sway as they danced when he approached me, two plates of food in his hands. He placed one down on the table in front of me, then sat down with the other in the chair next to mine. "I got you some food. I don't know what you like, so I just got a bunch of different stuff."

"Oh, thank you." I said, surprised.

"Yea yea, just don't get used to it." He blew it off with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and I've been meaning to ask you, how come Dai-dono preached at this wedding? I though you usually did it."

I gabbed the first thing I saw on the plate that he had given me and stuck it into my mouth before answering. A sweet chocolate covered strawberry. "So, that's what you were trying to ask me through out the whole service?" I inquired after swallowing, picking up a small stalk of celery. I took a thoughtful bite," I usually do, but after that scare with the assassin, Dai thought it best for her to do this ceremony. It'll show the people that everything's alright."

I took another bite as he spoke. "But, everything's not all right. If everything was all right, then I wouldn't be here."

I swallowed before speaking. "You know that, and I know that, but what's the point of everyone else knowing that? If we tell them then they'll just worry. Happiness is a gift, so we shouldn't take it away from other people for pointless reasons."

"You consider this a pointless reason?" He asked, sounded slightly angered.

"Yes, I do." I shot back, "This involves me, Dai, and the people that we hold close to us. There is absolutely no reason to alarm everyone else." I popped another strawberry in my mouth then, signaling the end of our conversation.

I heard him sigh, then change the subject, "So, do you not like dancing, or do you just not know how?"

I sighed too, "I'm just not in the mood."

After a few minutes of sitting in silence with Kurosaki, I had grown board, and I imagined that so had he. So, after finishing off the food that he had brought me, I got up and walked around, trying to find something else to occupy my time. I chatted for a while with the few women that had been invited to the party and were not spending their time dancing with the many men there. I even danced with a few myself, laughing and flirting the whole time.

It didn't matter anyways. Even if I flirted with them or not, none of the men there would ever show up at a party with the soul purpose of courting me, so it didn't matter if I made an impression on them or not.

I was dancing with a handsome young man about my age when I was interrupted. I looked up to find a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes tapping my dancing partner on the shoulder, asking if he could intrude.

"What do you want?" I asked bluntly, yet at the same time not bothering to completely drop the smile on my face. He wrapped an arm around me, then laced our fingers together, pulling me along in a dance before he answered.

"I wanted to talk to you, but when I found you so busy socializing with everyone else, I figured that this would be the only way to get to you." He responded with a grin.

"What would you like to talk about?" I inquired.

"I just want to get to know you. We're going to spending a lot of time together now what with me protecting you, so I figured that I should get to know the girl that I'll be watching over."

"Well then, I guess that means I need to get to know the man that will be watching over me as well." I countered. "It only seems fair."

Kurosaki agreed , then started off with his first question, "What's your favorite color?" It seemed innocent enough.

"Blue."

"Why, because it's the color of my eyes?" He teased.

"You wish," I laughed, "Because it's the color of my favorite flower, blue daisies. My turn, how do you know my brother?"

He looked away from me when he answered. "I used to work with him."

"You're an engineer?" I asked, confused at how he had ended up with the job of a body guard if he was smart enough to become an engineer.

"Used to be. Something happened, and I was blamed for it. After that I went from job to job until one day Souichirou paid me a visit and said he needed me for something. And that's how I ended up here."

"Oh, well, why didn't-" I started to ask.

"Uh-uh, it's my turn now." He cut me off. "Where are your parents?"

It was my turn to look away then. "Dead. They had a carriage accident when I was eight. I could have stopped it though."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I had a dream about it. Back then I wasn't exactly sure how they worked, so I didn't know what to do. Though of course that's no excuse." I reprimanded myself.

"I think it is." Kurosaki butted in. "You were too young to know what to do. Even if you wanted to you couldn't have prevented it."

"That's not the point." I protested. "The reason that the gods and goddesses send me prophetic dreams is so that I can help prevent what they show me."

"Really?" He demanded. "And when have you ever succeeded in preventing something that the gods and goddesses have shown you?"

"Well, never, but-"

"Exactly." He said. "The gods and goddesses don't show you things so that you can prevent them, they show them to you so that you can better prepare the people that are involved."

And even though I didn't want to admit it, I realized then that he was right. "How do you know so much about all of this?"

"Two of my brothers work in the church." He replied nonchalantly.

"Well-" I didn't get to say any more than that, because that was when the last waltz of the night ended. We broke apart, him bowing, me curtsying.

Knowing that the party would soon be over, I left to change back into my everyday clothes so that I could travel back home in them. Kurosaki and I would have to continue our game of questions some other time.

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><p>Kurosaki and I returned to an empty house. Onii-chan was in the fourth city that night due to an invitation he had received the other day inviting him to come to a party and try to court one of the ladies there. He had agreed to go, and was now flirting, drinking, and partying in a big house somewhere.<p>

Unlike when we were younger, I went to bed without waiting for him to get home, exhausted from everything that had happened that day.

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><p><strong>Yea, I'm not too proud of this chapter, but at least you guys finally get to see Kurosaki. I'm even surprised at myself at how long it took me to get him into this story. The next chapter really does start the rising action in the plot though, and I'll try to come out with it faster than this one, this one surprisingly took me forever.<strong>

**Remember: **_**please review!**_


	4. Things Unfamiliar and Unknown

**I'm so glad that I have the next 3 chapters written, though that means how often I update is just sad. I'm off of school now though, thank god, so I'll be able to update more often now. I'm also working on my other story Because Daisies Come In Every Color right now though, so I have to post for that one as well. I also have one more AU planned for this series after this one, so hopefully I won't lose interest in it before I write it. I highly doubt that though cause Dengeki Daisy isn't over yet. So that tends to keep me interested. **

**Enough of my blabbering now and on with the story:**

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><p>A noise was what woke me up that night. First the sound of wood knocking against wood, then glass shattering, followed by a murmured swear. I forced my eyelids open, knowing that I needed to find what the cause of the racket was. I never could have expected what I saw.<p>

Purple glass was scattered along the floor, along with the blue daisies that the vase on my bedside table had held. As I looked up I found what had knocked them over. A large man in a black mask was standing over me, the knife in his hand glistening in the moonlight that streamed through my open window. I could only guess what he was planning to use that knife for.

I screamed, a high pitched shriek, letting my terror at what was in front of me fuel my squealing. The man reached out, trying to place his large rough hand over my mouth to muffle my screams. He took aim with his knife, ready to plunge it into my skin when he was stopped by the sound of two pairs of footsteps rapidly approaching us.

The man ran then, not out the door and into the rest of the house, but out the window, landing on a bed of grass with only the arms of death available to catch him.

I kept screaming even though he was gone, tears pricking at my eyes as shock began to set in. I couldn't stop staring at the window, knowing the fait of the man that had leapt out of it without having to look.

Kurosaki was the first one to come into my room, scanning the room for any signs of danger and coming up with none. I watched as he then carefully assessed me, along with the broken vase and my broken sobs. He made his way over to me, carefully avoiding the shards of glass as he sat down on the edge of my bed. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close, murmuring for me to hush before I woke up everyone within a fifty mile radius.

I didn't know what possessed me to let this stranger comfort me, but I did. As I leaned into him, I stopped trying to hold in my sobs, willfully letting my tears stain his shirt. I let the warmth of someone I barely knew comfort me, accepting it as if it were my brothers.

Onii-chan came into the room then, demanding to know what happened and if I was okay. "Th-the window." I stuttered into Kurosaki's chest. "Check the wi-window." Onii-chan had on a grave face, something I rarely ever saw as he did what I had told him to.

With one knee resting on my window seat, and both hands on the frame of the window, Onii-chan peered out into the night. When he saw what was lying on the ground, his eyes widened and he took a step back before calling Kurosaki over to see what was outside the window. He stroked my hair once more, then left to join Souichirou, leaving me feeling cold and alone. My arms felt empty, so I grabbed one of my pillows and held it close.

Kurosaki also looked out into the night; he looked grim, but not bothered enough to take a step back like Onii-chan had. They talked things over quietly, not letting me listen in on their conversation. Occasionally they would lean over the window seat and take another look at the body below, after that they would straiten up again and make more comments to one another.

When they were done, Kurosaki closed my window and locked it as Onii-chan took his spot next to me on the bed. He placed his hands on both sides of my head and leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes and sighing in relief that I wasn't hurt. "Well, I guess all those alpha waves I sent you paid off if you were able to take down that guy all by yourself." He joked, typical Souichirou.

"Onii-chan, what's going to happen to that man's body?" I asked, sniffling.

"We'll get it in the morning if something doesn't make a midnight snack of it first." Kurosaki answered instead.

"Yes, but I can't imagine that he'd taste very good." Onii-chan said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Than man must have been crazy to try and hurt someone as amazing as you Teru, and I doubt crazy is very tasty. In fact, I bet he was filled up to the brim with crazy." I gave him the best smile I could manage, that way he would probably think that his failed attempt at humor was working.

Onii-chan cleaned up the glass on my floor before heading off back to bed, the whole time talking about how brave I was for beating up the intruder. Kurosaki had staid the whole time, and once Onii-chan had left he made himself a makeshift bed on my window seat. It would have been funny if not the given situation seeing him trying to get in a comfortable position at first. He was so tall, leaving the window seat half his size in length. Eventually he simply sat up straight, knees bent as he leaned against one wall.

I imagined the he stayed up long past when I fell asleep, staring out into the night. Just like a watchdog, protecting my from everything unfamiliar and unknown.

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><p><strong>So, that was the chapter, it's pretty short but as the first time someone tries to kill Teru it's also pretty important. I really love the fact that in this chapter we get to see some of Sou-chan's lame humor, with how funny Teru can be when she's making fun of Kurosaki, it's actually kind of sad that he can't make good jokes, but it just helps make up who he is, so it's okay. Please please please review and I promise that the next chapter will be longer!<strong>


	5. Here And Gone

**Hey you guys, sorry it's taken me so long to update. My summer so far has been packed, and I just got back from a week at my grandparent's. Unfortunately, this Monday I'll be starting a 2 week camp, but I'll still try to work on the story anyways. **

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><p>There was no doubt that the incident with the man that tried to kill me had scared me. It had let me know that someone was coming after me as well, and I knew that more attacks were to soon follow. I tried my best to act normal though, smiling my way through life. It helped that I could easily find the positive outlook on things.<p>

Like when I was walking to the 2nd city one day, on my way to discuss plans for the remodel of the church there with its priest. The walk wasn't too terribly long, only about two miles, and it helped that I had walked it before, so I was sort of used to it. I had Kurosaki with me, perusal, along with his nagging voice as he complained about how long the walk was, and how he was "too old for all of this."

I walked at least ten feet in front of him, enjoying the breeze that blew back my hair and cooled off my face. A path had been well worn into the ground on which we traveled, flora overgrown on both sides. At the time, Kurosaki and I were in a small field, trees not too far off in the distance. Wild flowers grew up all around me, filling the air with a sweet scent as well as with pollen.

I was busy enjoying the beauty of nature around me when I heard it, a soft click. I halfway turned around to look at Kurosaki, and saw that he had heard it too. He stood frozen, poised to jump into action at a moments notice. "Teru-" He started to say, when there was a loud bang, sending every other animal in the area fleeing for cover. Though there was no need for their alarm, because they weren't the hunter's target… I was.

A sharp pain entered my left shoulder, the cause of which hit me with such a great force that it sent me falling backwards. Kurosaki had moved as soon as the sound had reached our ears, covering the distance between us in enough time to catch me just before I reached the ground, saving me from even more impact. I was too stunned to move as his long, warm arms wrapped around me, no other thought crossing my mind except for, "I've been shot."

I vaguely realized that Kurosaki was kneeling on the ground, me cradled in his arms. "Teru." He said, trying to get my attention. "Teru, are you okay?"

"What do you think?" I managed back. I could have sworn that the pain in my shoulder was spreading, and the wound was beginning to stain my light green dress red.

I tried unsuccessfully to stifle my moan of pain as Kurosaki lifted me off the ground bridle style. Even though the rough movement of him running as he headed towards the next city was torture on my new wound, I tried my best to keep the tears that fell from my eyes to a minimum, due to Kurosaki's worried face as he rushed me to the nearest clinic.

Once we got there, it was no surprise that Kurosaki was out of breath after running the whole way. And even though he was gasping for air, his grip on me didn't lessen. As soon as we got to the large brick building, nurses tried to take me away from him, so that they could take me into an operating room and remove the bullet from my shoulder. By then, I was only half myself, all of the blood loss and pain pushing my mind to fall into unconsciousness so that it wouldn't have to take in what my body was feeling. But as they took me away from my body guard, prying my fingers from the man's shirt that I grasped so tightly, when I felt that warmth no longer encircling me, I felt alone. After that, I blacked out.

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><p>When I woke up, the operation was done, the small piece of led no longer in my body. And though I was unconscious as they removed it, I could feel that my wound had been messed with, they had had to make the cut larger to operate on it after all.<p>

I awoke to find myself surrounded by white walls, the evening sunlight that streamed through the only window in the room reflecting off of them in an orange light. I found myself laying in a small twin sized bed, white sheets covering me up to my shoulders. The far right hand corner of my room held a chair, in which Kurosaki was asleep in, his large form seeming peaceful for once as he rested.

I tried my best to sit up, mumbling soft curses as my wound throbbed, limiting most of my movements. I didn't think that I would make enough noise to wake up Kurosaki, but then I tried to reach for the glass of water on my bedside table, and accidentally knocked it over. I watched him jump as the glass shattered, then whip his head back and forth quickly as he searched for the source of the noise that had woken him up.

His gaze eventually came to rest on me, my eyes glued to the bed sheets in guilt. I hadn't wanted to wake him up; there was no telling how much sleep he had gotten with all that had happened, and I didn't want him to feel overworked. He yawned though, and rubbed his eyes, indicating that he had at least fallen into a deep sleep at one point.

"Well, at least I know that you're well enough to cause some sort of trouble." He said, a drowsy edge to his voice.

"Hey, I'm not always causing trouble! Where did you get that idea from?" I demanded, feeling hurt and insulted. Though, at the same time, I knew that he probably didn't mean it. I had a theory, that most of the time, Kurosaki said whatever came to his mind first when it came to insulting me.

I watched as he stood up, starched, then walked over to the side of my bed so that he could pick up the biggest of the glass shards. "How long have I been asleep?" I asked, bending over the edge of the bed so that I could look down at him.

"A few hours. Your brother should be here soon to see you, we sent someone to go get him a while ago, so it can't be long until he arrives. You should go back to sleep anyways though, I'll wake you up when he gets here."

I nodded, sliding back under my covers and burying my head in the pillows. "Oh, and one more thing." He added after I closed my eyes. "Try not to snore so loudly this time. I could barely sleep through all the racket you made." I snorted, choosing to ignore his comment. I didn't snore.

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><p>I was woken up next by the banging of a wooden door being thrown open. "Teru?" I heard Sou-chan exclaim as I opened my eyes. I looked up to find him standing over me, a look of worry and fear on his face. He always over did the protective brother bit.<p>

"Onii-chan, can-"

"I heard what happened. Are you okay? It doesn't still hurt, does it?" He babbled on, interrupting me.

I sighed, and attempted to sit up so that I could talk to Onii-chan better. He placed a hand on my good shoulder though, and pushed me back down before I could get very far. "Are you crazy? Don't do that, you might hurt yourself." He scolded me.

Even though I knew that I would be fine, I complied to Onii-chan's wishes and remained laying down. "Where's Kurosaki?" I asked, not bothering to look around the room. It had turned dark outside, the only light in the room coming from the few small candles that were placed here and there.

"I don't know, but I've been meaning to talk to him ever since I got here."

"And how long has that been?" I inquired.

He smiled slightly. "Not very long. Tell you what, I'll go look for him if you stay put."

"It's not like I could go anywhere anyways." I protested.

Onii-chan's smile brightened a little. "Glad to see you're looking at the bright side of things." He said, before turning and walking out the door.

Only a few minutes after Onii-chan walked out the door, Kurosaki came in, a half eaten apple in his hands. "Hey," He said, as he closed the door behind him, "Why are you awake?"

"Souichirou came in a little while ago." Kurosaki groaned at what I had said, as I moved into a sitting position. When he saw me struggling, he wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me up until I was sitting against my pillows. "He's out looking for you right now. He wants to talk to you."

"That's what I thought. That's why I came in here to hide." He explained to me. "I was worried that when he got here he was going to chew me out. Though, what happened isn't entirely my fault."

"Entirely?" I questioned his usage of the word.

"Yes. If we had just come here by carriage like I had suggested, then none of this would have happened." He scolded me in a gentle voice as he placed a gentle hand on the side of my face, then trailed it downwards, stroking my hair.

"Well, I'm sorry for wanting to give Master a day off every now and then." I retorted, determined to have the least amount of blame placed on me as possible.

"Yea, yea, we all know you're too nice for your own good." He chimed in, most likely dismissing my comment.

"Why do you think this is your fault in the first place?" I asked. "You're not the one who shot me."

Kurosaki sighed as he stared at the now dim white walls. "If you hadn't noticed, I've not been doing the best job of being your body guard lately. Already, twice you've almost been killed, and I haven't been able to do much about it."

I reached up and wrapped my hand around the arm Kurosaki was using as he stroked my hair. "But, that's not your fault!" I protested.

I felt him pull his hand away from me as the door opened again, reveling Sou-chan on the other side. "Hey Teru, I forgot to-" He started to say, but stopped when he saw Kurosaki. "Oh, Tasuku, I've been looking for you. May I speak to you in the hallway for a moment?" I watched as he nodded his head, then followed Onii-chan out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I slumped back down in my bed, closing my eyes as I listened to the soft murmur coming from the other side of the wall. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but after a while, the volume of their voices began to rise. They were either getting mad at each other, or were becoming very passionate about what they were discussing. It only took a few more minutes for the door to open again, but from the sound of the squeaking hinges, I knew that the door was only opened halfway. This was because the man opening it stopped when he heard his name called.

"Tasuku." There was a pause, the silence being filled with nothing more than the breathing of three people, and the anticipation that I had for what Souichirou was going to say. "Thank you."

There was a grunt of acknowledgement, then the sound of Kurosaki's voice as he said, "Go ahead, I'll watch her while you talk to the nurse." Retreating footsteps, a sigh, then the squeaking of the door closing once again.

I heard four footsteps, then felt fingers in my hair again. They stroked me there, just once, then disappeared.

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><p><strong>So, that's it for chapter 4! According to the part where Kurosaki thinks Sou is gonna chew him out, I figured that he would only think that because he's the type of person to blame himself for most bad things that happen. Of course, we all know that Souichirou isn't the kind of person to do that. No matter what he was like before he died, he still seems WAY too nice for that.<strong>

**One more thing before I go, I've started reading a book called ****The Art Of Styling Sentences. ****It's pretty good, and not nearly as boring as you would think. I'm reading this, because I've decided to become a better writer, not just for myself, but for all you amazing people out there reading my stories. It may not show up too soon, as I'm already writing chapter 7, but hopefully soon my writing will get an extra kick in its increasingly better form besides just practice and experience. ****J**

**Peace, Love, Daisies. :P **


	6. Hide And Seek

**YAY! New chapter! I know it's been a week, and I'm sorry to say that this chapter is just a filler. I really didn't need it for plot development, but I did for character development. My friend told me that it's really cute though, and it's probably the most in character I have them so far. So, enjoy! **

**Oh! And I almost forgot. This chapter is dedicated to one of my best friends, Anna. She gave me the idea for this chapter, and puts up with having me read all of my stories to her, even if their well put together or not.**

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><p>I was released from the hospital a few days later and sent home. And even though I was ordered not to leave the house until I was at least well enough to have my bandages removed, I was happy to be out of the hospital and somewhere familiar. But, that didn't stop it from becoming annoying after being under house arrest with only Kurosaki to keep me company most of the day after two weeks.<p>

I lifted myself on to the tips of my toes, my good arm extended above my head as I reached for the bread that Kurosaki had so smartly placed on the top shelf of the pantry. I heard said tall man chuckle as he walked into the room, taking in my appearance. "It's not funny!" I insisted, as I began to jump up and down, still trying to reach my snack.

"You're right." He agreed me, as he grabbed the bred off of the shelf. "But this is." And he held it above his head, even father up then the shelf, taunting me with the food. "You know, I don't think I really realized how short you are before." He observed. "You have to be under five feet tall."

"I don't know." I said, put out. "Why don't you measure me _after_ you give me the bread?"

"Only if you say the magic word." He grinned.

"Please." I begged.

"Please what?"

I cried out in frustration at the immaturity of the man in front of me. I pulled at my hair, at that moment wishing dearly that I was tall enough to pull out his. "Please give me the bread."

"There we go." He said as he handed it to me. "Now, was that so hard?"

"Yes." I mumbled, as I broke off a section of the bread and began to butter it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kurosaki place his elbows on the counter, then his head in his hands.

"What should we do today?" He asked.

I shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. Play cards."

He shook his head, blond locks whipping back and forth. "No, we've done that for the past two days in a row. Besides, you take forever to play your cards."

"Well, I thought I was doing pretty well for someone using only one hand." I countered. "I know what we can do, just let me eat first, okay?"

He agreed, and ten minutes later I was opening the large front door of my home, letting in the warm morning sunshine. I was about to take a step outside, but was stopped by a long slender arm wrapping itself around my waist and pulling me backwards.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kurosaki asked, peering down at me as he held me still against his chest.

"Um, outside." Where else would I be going, I thought to myself.

"No, I don't think so. You were specifically told to stay inside until you were better."

"Yea, but I'm almost well enough to have my bandages off already. Plus, aren't sunshine and fresh air good for you? I promise I'll be careful." I squirmed, trying my best to get myself out of Kurosaki's strong grasp. My fighting was no use until I took a step backwards and accidently stepped on his foot, squashing his toes. He gave a sort of yelp, and I used the distraction to wiggle myself out of his arms.

I took off running out the door, ignoring Kurosaki's shouts of protest behind me. I ran into the forest behind our house, a maze of trees and bushes to anyone who did not know their way around it. Lucky for me, I did.

I hid myself amongst the foliage, using nature as my camouflage from the one looking for me. I heard Kurosaki enter the forest before I saw him. He stepped on just about every twig he came across, each one making a loud cracking sound; he also ran into a few low hanging tree branches when he wasn't paying attention. Then again, he was also quite loudly calling my name, doing his best to summon me to him.

I decided to follow him as he stumbled around in a world made up of brown and green, always staying just out of sight. Sometimes, I would giggle, or call his name, before dashing off a ways in another direction, making our game of hide and seek just a bit more fun.

At one point, I was hiding behind a tree when I called Kurosaki's name. When I heard him stop walking and turn around, I turned myself, ready to flee in the other direction. I didn't get very far though, because I soon felt my foot sink into a hole, stopping me, and sending me tumbling to the ground. I was able to catch myself with my good hand, but that didn't prevent my left shoulder from hitting the dusty ground.

I moaned in pain as I flipped over onto my back. My left arm rested against my stomach, the sling it was in preventing it from moving anywhere else. I watched Kurosaki appear from behind the tree that I had used to hide. His eyes widened when he saw me, but as he came to kneel beside me, I could easily tell that he was pissed off. He lifted me into his arms none the less, and carried me back to the house.

"See what happens when you don't do what I tell you." He grumbled, as he pushed the still open door open a bit wider with his foot.

"Yea, yea, I know. Listen to adults, do what you're told, blah blah blah." I replied sourly, almost as cross about the whole ordeal as he was.

No. No blah blah blah. You need to take this seriously." He reprimanded me, as he gently placed me down on the couch in the living room. He disappeared for a second, then came back with a deck of cards and began dealing them on the coffee table.

I slid off of the sofa and on to the floor, once again spending the day with my body guard playing go fish.

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><p><strong>Nice job Teru, can you possibly be any more of a klutz? I guess it's okay though, after all, I'm the one who made you do it in the first place. Also, just so no one else is confused like my friend was, bread <strong>_**is **_**a snack. Or, at least I've munched on a dinner roll every now and then. I just really couldn't think of anything that I knew that they would have a long time ago, so I just went with that.**

**Also, you guys know I would just adore to get a few more reviews per chapter. I only got one or two for the last one, and I usually get three or four, so I was kind of disappointed. And, the more you guys review, the faster I'll want to update. I'll just let that sink in for you guys now, and I'll see you in the next chapter. **

**P.S. I'm not putting up the next chapter until I get at least 2 reviews. Even though I hate to that to you guys, I really don't feel bad for doing it. :)**


	7. Truths Be Told

**Well, I'm back. Though I only asked for 2 reviews last chapter, I got 1… I have to say, that really took a HUGE whack at my courage, but oh well. So, for all y'all who were looking forward to the next chapter, you can thank ****Theswanghost01,**** as they were the only one that reviewed. I still love everyone that's reviewed, I just hope you know that I don't mind if you review more than once (not for the same chapter, but over time). Oh well, enjoy!**

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><p>It was a few more weeks until I was able to return to work, and I felt relief about being in the house of the gods once again. My day was spent first with my studies from Dai, and then dealing with problems in the church, as well as taking prayer requests from the public and catching up on the latest news. Thankfully, no one had successfully broken into the church while I was gone, but there were signs of multiple attempts.<p>

I was on my way to inspect one of the doors that had been nearly broken down, when I saw Kiyoshi leaning against the right wall of the hallway. He looked nervous, staring at the ground so that his glasses were continuously falling down his nose, and twiddling his fingers. I approached him with a smile, hoping to find out what was on his mind.

"Hey Kiyoshi, what's wrong?" I asked my closest friend.

He looked up at me just enough so that I could see the scarlet blush that stained his cheeks. I hoped that I wasn't the one making him nervous. "Teru, I've been, um, looking for you."

"Well, I'm here now." I said cheerfully. "What do you want?"

"Oh, well, um…You know how when you turn 18, you have to start looking for a husband?" I nodded in agreement. "And, if you ever liked anyone in the church, you would tell me, right?"

"Of course. You're my best friend Kiyoshi; you know that." I still had no idea where this was going as I answered.

"I do, so I know that that hasn't happened yet. And, I was just wondering, if you don't find anyone you like before then, if you would consider marrying me?" I stopped breathing for a second. Marry Kiyoshi? I tried to process the thought, but he didn't give me the chance. "It's not like I'm confessing to you or anything, I just thought it would be easier. You have to marry someone from the church, and it's not like you have the option of getting married. I just thought, you know, it'd be better to marry your friend, then someone you don't even love."

I nodded again, my eyes glued to the floor. I just couldn't quite bring myself to look at Kiyoshi yet. I could feel his eyes on me though, and I knew that he was waiting for an answer.

"I, um, get what you mean. And you're right, it would be easier." I agreed with what he had said, but that didn't mean I had answered his question yet.

In the back of my mind, a war was raging. Half of me, the more practical side, was pushing me to say yes. Kiyoshi, had just offered me a deal that I couldn't refuse. He was right when he said it would be easier, because it would be.

But then…There was that other side of me, the side that said no. The side that said, but what about…And then stopped there. What about who?

I didn't have time to think about it, because Kurosaki appeared at the end of the hallway then. "Teru!" He called, as he rushed over to me. I was about to ask him what was wrong, when he grabbed my arm and started dragging me away from Kiyoshi. I stumbled forward, my heels rapidly clicking on the stone floor as I tried to regain my balance.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered as I did my best to keep up with him.

"The priestess wants you. It's almost time for us to leave, and you still need to pick up your homework from her." I had to stifle a groan at the thought of homework.

"But, Kiyoshi." I whipped my head around just in time to see the retreating form of my disappointed friend.

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><p>I didn't have time to think again about what Kiyoshi had said until the carriage ride home that day. Or at least, really think about it. It flashed across my mind for a moment when Dai asked me if there was something on my mind that I wished to share, and then again when I passed him by on my way out of the church. His proposal was just so unexpected, and though he had most likely been thinking about it for quite a while, it had definitely shocked me.<p>

I didn't know why I hadn't immediately accepted. It felt like if he had asked me before all of this assassin stuff, I would have. But, what would someone trying to kill Dai and I have to do with not accepting a marriage proposal?

"Hey, are you okay?" A gentle voice snapped me away from my thoughts.

I dragged my gaze away from the carriage window to look at Kurosaki. I noticed then how cute he looked when he was curious. Eyes wide and questioning, as well as having mouth turned down slightly at the corners in a small frown.

"Um, it's nothing." I remembered to say after a moment.

He stared at me a few moments more, then turned away to look out the window as well. "Olay, don't tell me then." He said, seeing straight through my lie.

I let my eyes linger on him a bit longer, clear blue eyes and spiky blond hair contrasting so well with his tan skin. I thought again about what I had noticed when I had first met him. Kurosaki was quite handsome, his tall and lean figure only adding to that tribute.

As I thought about when I had first met him, when the attacks had first started, I suddenly remembered something. Kurosaki had to do with the attacks, because he had come around when they had first started. So, did that mean that he was what was stopping me from saying yes to Kiyoshi? Had he really made his way into my heart so much that my subcontiousness had noticed it before I had?

I turned my head to look back at the country side so that I could think without having to worry about him catching me staring at him. What had made me fall for Kurosaki? Sure he loved to tease me, but at the same time, he could be so sweet. A few weeks ago, when I had snuck out into the forest and he had had to chase after me, true, he had grumbled about it afterwards, but when he held me, he held me close, yet at the same time was careful not to hurt me. When he placed me on the couch, instead of simply dropping me, he slowly lowered me onto the cushions, being so careful, as if I might break.

It was also hard to forget that time when I was in the hospital. Though he had helped me a great deal when my bullet wound limited what I could do, that could have been him just being nice to someone that was hurt. He had blamed himself for not protecting me after all. But, that still didn't justify when he had stroked my hair, of that caring look he had given me when he did it too.

So, I realized then that, though Kurosaki loved to tease me, at the same time, he still acted like he cared about me. He did things that, as my bodyguard, he didn't have to do. Little things, that showed that, just maybe, he cared about me too. I still couldn't decide anything though until I knew that I was right.

As soon as we got home, I decided to start on my homework immediately so that I could spend some time with Onii-chan when he came home from work. At the time, I had gotten Kurosaki to help me study, though it's not as if he had anything better to do anyways.

"So," He said after taking another sip of water, "What does it mean when you drag your fan across your right cheek?"

I did the motion that he had said, sweeping the small wooden fan in my hand across that part of my body. "Yes." I answered his question.

"Okay then, how about dragging it across your left cheek?"

I did the motion and answered with a no, hoping that our study of 'fan talk' would soon be over.

Kurosaki took yet another sip of water before placing the glass on the coffee table which he was sitting on the floor next to. I was standing in front of him, afternoon sun streaming in from the large windows to my right starting to get in my eyes.

"Alright, last one. Pressing a half opened fan to your lips." He commanded.

I did as he said, then mumbles through the thin wood, "Kiss me."

"Good, now just do some math problems I made up for you and you'll be done." He pushed the paper towards me as I sat down at the short table next to him. Though I had to study a great deal, I really was grateful for how extensive the priestesses' knowledge was expected to become. Not many women got to go to school for more than three years; just long enough to learn how to read and write and some basic math skills for most.

I started working on the problem, but at the 3rd one my elbow accidently bumped into Kurosaki's. I noticed then how close he was, so close that our knees were almost touching. The silence that hung over us suddenly became heavy, and I felt myself wanting to break it.

"Um, you know, Kiyoshi asked me to marry him today."

Kurosaki's head whipped around so that he could look at me, a shocked expression on his face. I felt shocked too; I had no idea what had possessed me to say that. I watched as he took a few seconds to try and compose himself, though it didn't really work. "So, what did you say?"

"I haven't said anything yet. I still don't know if I should or not."

He turned away from me to face the far side of the room, the expression on his face showing that he was deep in thought. After about a minute he turned to look at me again, his expression now wary. "If…if I asked you not to marry him, would you?"

Over time our faces had become so close that when he talked I could sort of feel his breath against my face. Because of this, what I said next came out in a soft whisper. "Yes."

After that there was no longer any distance between us. He closed the space in a second, pressing his warm lips against mine. They were soft, and still moist from the water he had been drinking. As he kissed me his arms came to rest around my waist, pulling me closer to him still. My own hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they placed themselves on Kurosaki's chest. I slowly moved them upwards though, not letting them stay in the same place as I itched to knot them into Kurosaki's hair.

I was stopped though from a noise two rooms over. The large front door of the house swinging open and then closed again, followed by my brother's call of, "I'm hooome!"

Kurosaki and I jumped apart as of not to be seen. And though, if he had come into that room at that very second, though he wouldn't have seen us kissing, it wouldn't have been too hard for him to tell that something had been going on, what with our flushed cheeks and speeding heart beats. This is why I was thankful that my fear did not turn into a reality.

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><p>I was sure that at dinner that night, I was the only one that felt awkward. I had just become so much more aware of Kurosaki, it felt weird. At one point his foot brushed against my calf, and I felt my face heat up in a blush. I dropped my head so that I staring down at my plate, my shoulder length brown hair hiding my face from the two boys sitting next to me.<p>

After a moment, I peeked through my curtain of hair to see if Onii-chan had noticed my random reaction, and was thankful when I saw him talking normally with Kurosaki. My eyes fell on the other man at the table then, and after a while he must have noticed my staring at him, because he turned his head to catch my eye. Traces of my previous blush must have still been evident on my face, because his soft lips then curved into a smirk, showing that he was satisfied by my reaction to his simple touch.

After that, diner became even more difficult to sit through, what with the blond haired man sitting across from me constantly touching me with the sole purpose of his own amusement. Most of the time he was rubbing our feet together, but every now and then he would brush his ankle against my calf, the ski on skin contact nearly driving me crazy as I had to continue to hold down any emotions that I may show. I was exhausted by the time the meal was over due to constantly having to keep myself in check, though I couldn't say that I was relieved when it ended, as I knew the heart racing feeling that he gave me wasn't necessarily bad, and I missed it once it wasn't there anymore.

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><p>I spent the remaining moments of daylight that were left over after super reading in the small library in our house, forcing my eyes to strain in the dull light. As soon as I was no longer able to make out the small print anymore, I realized that I had forgotten to bring a candle with me, meaning that I would have to walk to my room, located on the other side of the house, with no light to guide my way.<p>

Sighing with impatiens, I dragged my fingers along the hallway's wall using it to help guide me in my trek through the dark house. There were no windows in the hall, and even if there were, the sun had long since dipped below the horizon, its only light coming from the reflection that it cast upon the moon. I held my hand in front of my face, just to test the level of darkness that I had been thrown into, and wasn't able to make out even the outline of the object, for everything had been shrouded in pitch black.

Suddenly, a light came alive in a room a few feet away, illuminating it and a small portion of the hallway. It soon began to move out of the room and in to the corridor, slowly making its way towards me as it remained suspended in the air. It wasn't until it got closer to me though that I could see who was holding the candle.

"Hi," I breathed as Kurosaki stopped in front of me, a brief smile lighting up his features before it was dropped, a different look coming on to his face.

"We need to talk." He said in a low voice, and though I told myself I was imagining it, it was as if it was laced with a hint of sadness. I inclined my head slightly, motioning for him to continue. "I've been thinking, and well, what I did…was wrong. What _we_ did, was wrong."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I stuttered slightly, "You mean…you regret kissing me?"

I watched as the blond heaved a sigh, the candle light reflecting off of his eyes to show a somewhat pained look. "I do, but only because it makes what I need to say so much harder." I held my breath as I waited, while Kurosaki closed his eyes, looking as if he was trying to harden his resolve. "We can't do this…this relationship. We both know that it's against the rules, and I won't let you get in trouble because of me."

"What do you mean because of you?' I asked in a sharp tone, not letting him continue. "I chose to kiss you just as much as you chose to kiss me. We're both at fault here, so don't start blaming yourself. Besides, we're not breaking the rules _yet. _I'm not supposed to start looking for a husband until I'm 18, so we have two more years until that happens. Don't start worrying yet, just enjoy the time that we have together while we have it. Don't spend it worrying on things to come." I reached up and ran a soothing hand through his hair then, trying to qualm his feelings of guilt. He leaned into my palm as it trailed down to his cheek, deep blue eyes fixated on the floor.

"I see your point, but I still feel like I'm corrupting you or something." He mumbled his pointless fears.

I gave a small laugh, "It's not corrupting if I chose to let you corrupt me." With that I raised myself on to the tips of my toes so that I could place a small kiss against his lips. "Good night." I whispered with a smile, the same words being repeated back to me before I walked off to my room, hoping that there I would dream of the man that I had just left behind.

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><p><strong>Well, that chapter took WAY longer than it should have. To all the people reading this story, I'm SO sorry this chapter took me so long to put up. First I wasn't around a computer for a long time, then my notebook that the story's in got taken away by my friend for a few months , THEN I lost ,my flash drive…..it's been horrible<strong>

**But over the time that I haven't been writing this story, my writing style has changed quite a bit, which I can tell from the amount of editing I just did, so that also contributed to why it took so long. It makes me want to go back and rewrite a lot of this story though when I read over it, that may not happen, but if it does, it will happen after I finish it, don't worry.**

**So yea, I didn't stop the story, I just took a really long break. Once again, sorry, but hope you enjoyed. **


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